Though there’s already been plenty to speculate about already, the Hot Stove Season won’t truly kick off until the culmination of the 2011 World Series, so while we wait for the rumormongering to start spiraling wildly out of control, here are some of our favorite links from the past few days.
As an aside, if you have any burning offseason questions you’d like answered, you can always e-mail us (TheYankeeAnalysts at gmail dot com) or drop a question in the comments below, and we’d be happy to answer it.
In any event, the below links contain some excellent reading from many of the usual suspects:
The Pinstriped Bible’s Jay Jaffe takes a look at C.J. Wilson
Jay’s fellow Bibly Study mate Cliff Corcoran has a great piece up on “Making the Last Out”
Mike Axisa writes about the Yankees’ biggest hit of the season
SG looks at whether the Yankees should swap Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson in the outfield
Eric wrote about it the other day, but it’s so awesome it bears linking again: Bojan Koprivica’s catcher defense article from The Hardball Times
Our own William with more of his regularly scheduled awesomeness over at the Banter
Value Over Replacement Grit has a unique World Series preview
Fangraphs’ excellent Q&A series continued the other day with an interesting interview with Kelly Johnson
I enjoyed this graphic look at World Series droughts at Beyond the Boxscore.
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3 Responses to Thursday Evening Linkstravaganza
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TIQ IQ
Thanks for the mention!
I know your Yankees have won about a trillion World Series titles.
But was that (even to your jaded eyes) not an incredible game tonight?
I haven’t watched more than half of the WS games in the last decade or more, so I am sure I missed some incredible plays. Have there been many (or any) as beautiful or clutch as Elvis’ scoop and glove-toss to keep the game tied?
I know that Jeter’s cutoff of the wild throw where he nailed the guy at the plate was huge. I don’t blame you guys if you love that one more.
But this is one of the biggest game-changers I can remember.
I have predicted Rangers in 6 on another site, and this win feels like it has Texas back on track.
It would have to stink to lose this one the way that STL did. I think it saps them.
Hey Dean,
You won’t find any disagreement from anyone over here. But I think you know we’re not your stereotypical Yankee fans — we all love great baseball, and thus far the World Series has been no exception.
I was saying last night how amazing it is to watch baseball without a rooting interest. Obviously I’d rather my team still be playing than not, but it’s incredibly calming to simply watch a great baseball game being played without living and dying with every pitch. Though your stomach has undoubtedly been in in knots.
It may hearten you to know that, while I don’t have a particular vested interest in the outcome, I am indeed pulling for your Rangers to win for a variety of reasons. For one, my wife’s family is from Houston, and I have developed quite an affinity for the Lone Star State during my many visits over the years. I have never been to Arlington, but my abhorrence of National League-style baseball makes it impossible for me to be an Astros fan (though I would absolutely love it if the ‘Stros do in fact move to the AL). I obviously couldn’t root for the Rangers last year since they beat the Yanks, but being that you guys took care of the Tigers this year, all is forgiven on that front.
For two, I’m still wrapping my head around the Cardinals even being in the World Series in the first place. I figured your Rangers would be a lock to sweep the crap out of them, but here we are tied at one. Last night’s truly was a spectacular comeback — and one that could be tough for St. Louis to recover from — although it’s crazy to think how different that inning likely unfolds if the Cards aren’t playing no-doubles defense. La Russa gets shit on by seemingly everyone, and his overmanaging tendencies sure did seem to get the best of him last night. I can’t fathom Mariano being taken out of a World Series game even with runners on 2nd and 3rd and no out.
Additionally, I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over this WS though; the Rangers are so clearly a superior team that it would be quite shocking if they can’t finally bring home the franchise’s elusive first World Championship. Best of luck to you.